


The Value of Love

by AquaTheLita



Series: Diabolik Brothers [4]
Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Brothers, Gen, Light Angst, Subaru is angsty again, did I mention angst yet?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 17:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15779124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaTheLita/pseuds/AquaTheLita
Summary: As usual, Subaru is busy being angsty. Laito thinks that the solution to this is to bother Subaru with affection. Laito's attempt at comforting Subaru turns into a discussion about the meaning and value of love, a tragically sensitive subject for both half-brothers.Part of my Diabolik Brothers fic series (because this site doesn't have nearly enough non-romantic non-OC DL fics)





	The Value of Love

**Author's Note:**

> This was written about a year ago. I'm posting it here since I now have an AO3 account. Also, this site seriously needs more DL fics that don't involve romance, sex, or OCs. Hope you guys enjoy...this~

The night outside the mansion was still and quiet and illuminated by a nearly-full moon; it would be a few nights until it was completely full. It illuminated the otherwise-dark hallway via the large windows on the righthand side. As the emerald-eyed russet-haired vampire walked along he suddenly noticed a black-panted leg with a white boot hanging down from one of the windowsills. “Hm?” Laito’s eyebrows raised slightly in interest. With a faint smile on his face, he picked up his pace a bit and approached the young vampire sitting at the window.

Subaru’s back was up against the side of the window sill. His right leg was bent up, his left hand was resting upon his knee, and his right hand was resting at his side. His head was raised, his sad half-closed ruby red eyes locked on the bright white almost completely circular sphere in the black of the night sky. His white hair almost seemed to glow under the moon’s radiance, his eyes gleaming with a gentle sadness. He wore a slight frown, his eyebrows slightly lowered, in an expression of melancholy and contemplation. His attention on the moon and his own thoughts, he did not hear his brother approaching.

Laito walked up to Subaru, approaching from the side, stopping a few feet away from his younger half-brother with a smile on his face. “By yourself again, Subaru-kun?”

Subaru snapped out of his thoughts and quickly turned his head to glare at Laito, his expression immediately changing to his typical cold and closed-off one, laced with a hint of irritation. “Tch. What the hell do you want, Laito?” he asked with a scowl.

“Oh, nothing much,” Laito replied casually, taking a step closer to Subaru. “I just wanted to see how my little brother is doing.”

“Tch. Well, fuck off. I don’t want to talk to you.” He turned his head away from Laito, his attention going back to the moon.

Laito frowned slightly as he carefully studied the side of the younger Sakamaki’s face, trying to find some decipherable hint emotion other than anger or irritation. “Are you sad?” he asked after a few seconds of silence. “Is there something wrong?”

Subaru closed his eyes briefly and gritted his teeth, the hand at his side clenching to a fist as he gripped his knee. “I’m _fine_. Fuck _off_.”

“Hm.” The corner of his lips turned up in a faint smirk. “Seems like you need someone to talk to.”

“No I don’t. Go away.” His eyebrows furrowed slightly, his eyes narrowing just a smidge more.

“Why must you let yourself be so lonely?”

“I’m not lonely. I want to be alone. Go away.”

“You’re always alone, though,” Laito said, taking a step closer. “I think that’s the problem.”

“There is no problem.” Subaru closed his eyes and gritted his teeth again.

Laito took another step closer. “You know what you need?”

“For you to leave.”

Laito took another step. “You need some love.”

“I don’t need any ‘love,’ nor do I want any. Especially _yours_.”

Laito simply blinked at him, seeming to be unfazed by the discrimination. “Why? Do you hate me or something?”

“Yes.”

Laito smirked wider, a knowing look in his eyes. He was amused by how much of a tsundere his brother was. “Hm. False. You don’t hate me. I think you just hate love and intimacy.”

Subaru’s eyes opened and he turned his head away so Laito wouldn’t see the sad look on his face. “I do. Because it’s pointless.” His voice was cold and harsh as usual, but hid a hint of pain. 

That pain would have gone unnoticed if Laito wasn’t already looking for it. “Love isn’t pointless. Love is everything.”

“Maybe to you. But not to me.”

Laito walked even closer. He was now just two steps away from Subaru. He leaned to the left side and smiled. “Come on, Subaru-kun. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong!” Subaru snapped.

“There is. You’re grumpy again.”

“I’m always like this. Doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong.”

“Or it means that there’s always something wrong.”

“Tch!” Subaru’s eyes closed again. He turned his head more until it rested on the wall. “Go away,” he grumbled.

Laito moved closer, standing directly in front of the windowsill. He could see the side of Subaru’s face, and took in his sour and discontented expression. “Why are you so grumpy all the time, my cute little brother?”

“Don't call me cute. I’m not cute. I’m hideous and horrifying.”

Laito smiled wider. “No you aren’t, Subaru-kun~ You’re absolutely adorable~” He reached out and poked his brother’s cheek.

Subaru’s eyes snapped open. His left hand shot up and immediately smacked Laito’s hand away from his face. “Don’t fucking touch me. And don’t try to tell me I’m cute. Your words mean nothing to me, you freaking pervert.”

Laito chuckled quietly. “I’m not being perverted in any way. I’m just trying to show my little brother some love~” He moved closer and leaned in, giving Subaru a light hug.

Subaru immediately tensed up and cringed at the contact. “ARGH!” With his other hand he made a swing for Laito’s face, slapping Laito as he tried to squirm out of the unwanted hug. “I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME!” he roared.

Laito seemed unfazed as he pulled away and stood up straight, though he had a light red mark on his face as he stepped away. “Aw. Why not? It’s just a bit of brotherly love.”

Subaru teleported no less than 10 feet away from Laito, crossing his arms. “Your idea of ‘love’ is sick and twisted.”

Laito turned to Subaru smirking wider and raising an eyebrow. “Is it, now?”

Subaru glowered at him. “It is.”

Laito tilted his head slightly. “Then tell me, Subaru-kun, what is _your_  idea of ‘love’?”

Subaru’s expression suddenly softened, though a deep frown remained on his face as he glared silently at Laito. 

Laito crossed his arms, imitating his younger brother’s stance. “I’m waiting.”

“If you love someone you would do anything for them,” he suddenly replied. “You would protect them and take care of them however you could.”

A satisfied look came to Laito’s bright green eyes; he was pleased with Subaru’s answer, and was surprised he’d even given one. “Even kill them?” he asked.

Subaru’s expression faltered, becoming one of surprise. “What?”

“Would you kill someone you loved? For their sake? Or at their command? Or even to prove your love for them?”

“Tch.” Subaru’s gaze grew cold again. His hands balled into fists as he glared at his older brother. “What the hell are you getting at with this, Laito?”

Laito chuckled quietly, as if amused by his brother’s reaction. “Hmmm...nowhere in particular. I’m just wondering how far you would go.”

Subaru’s eyes narrowed as his fists clenched tighter. He felt his irritation growing, his rage starting to rise. He growled lowly. “You’d better watch what you say to me. You’re starting to go too far yourself.”

“Hm? Am I hitting a nerve? But I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Subaru remained silent.

Laito turned his head to the window, his gaze wandering to at the nearly-full moon. His hand went to the back of his neck, and he let out a quiet sigh. By then the hand-shaped mark on his face had faded. He remained quiet for a few moments, then turned his eyes back to Subaru without turning his head. He smiled. “How’s your mother doing?”

“Tch,” Subaru said quietly, narrowing his eyes further. He felt his face heat up slightly from anger, and he wondered why the hell Laito was bringing up his mother all of a sudden. “Last I checked, she was doing just fine,” he replied between gritted teeth.

Laito narrowed his eyes slightly as well, though unlike Subaru he was grinning, in almost a mocking manner. He turned his head towards the white-haired vampire. “So she’s still alive, huh? Then perhaps you aren’t capable of love, after all. After all, you couldn't even kill your own mother.”

“You--!” Subaru’s eyes snapped wide open. He let out a loud growl, his lips curling up in an angry sneer, baring his fangs. An instant later he was directly in front of Laito. He grabbed the older Sakamaki’s shirt collar in both hands and pulled him so they were eye-level, their faces less than an inch away from each other. Red met green, ruby met emerald, rage met placidity. “How _dare_  you talk about my relationship with my mother like that!”

Laito seemed unfazed by his younger brother’s threatening behavior. In fact, it seemed to only make him more amused. “Like what? I’m just saying the truth.” 

Subaru teleported them to the wall next to the window--opposite the side that Subaru had been sitting on--and slammed Laito against it. The moonlight gleamed off his angry red eyes. “You have no right to speak about us as if you know what’s going on! I could talk shit about your own fucked up relationship with _your_  mother, but unlike you I mind my own fucking business!”

Laito only chuckled in response to Subaru’s words and actions. “My, my, so harsh, so violent. I must have hit a nerve.”

Subaru let go of Laito with one of his hands, only for that hand to ball into a fist flying straight for Laito’s face.

Laito saw it coming, and caught the fist at the last second. 

“I swear to hell, Laito, if you talk shit one more time I will make sure that it is the last thing you ever say.”

“Ah~ How scary, Subaru-kun,” Laito said in a joking tone.

“Don’t fucking mock me,” Subaru sneered, pushing against Laito’s hand and tightening his grip on his shirt.

Laito pushed back against the fist. He wasn’t as strong or as skilled at fighting as Subaru, but he could at least hold off Subaru’s fist for now. “Alright, alright. I won’t.” His smug expression faded into one of quiet and gentle neutrality, while Subaru’s remained filled with rage.

Subaru didn’t let his hand be pushed away, and the two hands remained at a standstill.

The two stared each other down for a long time. The silence was deafening. The tension was suffocating. The stillness was maddening. Neither of them spoke or moved, waiting for the other to do so. Time seemed to stop for the two brothers, yet it also seemed to drag on unbearably long.

At last, after what seemed like an eternity, Laito broke the silence. 

“Why don’t you ever talk about your mother?”

Subaru blinked in surprise, having been caught off guard by the sudden question, especially after Laito said he wouldn’t talk shit anymore. His eyes narrowed again, locking on those green orbs, his own red ones filled with a now-quieter rage. “Because my mother is none of your business,” he replied in a low growl.

“Hm. I would say that the status of our father’s last living wife is somewhat our business.”

Subaru raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you care about our father?”

“I don’t. But even if he is the worst scum to ever walk this earth, at least his wives are--or in some cases were--a bit more tolerable.” There was a sincerity in his tone--he meant his words--laced with a light oxymoronic sarcasm. 

“If you give a damn about her then why not visit her yourself, huh?” 

“Because you would probably kill us if we went near her without _your_  permission.”

“Damn right I would,” Subaru automatically sneered in response. 

“Hm. I see. Good thing I wasn’t planning on it.”

“I hope not.”

They stared each other down once again, the tension so thick that you could cut it with a silver knife.

Once again, Laito broke the silence. “Are you going to keep trying to punch me? Or will you back off and calm down?”

Subaru scoffed, then after a beat he backed away from Laito.

Laito fixed his collar and shook out his hand. “Thank you.”

Subaru looked away. “Don’t thank me. I don’t want your damn gratitude.”

Laito smirked. “Hm.”

Subaru started walking away, heading off in the direction Laito had come from before.

Laito stepped away from the wall and watched Subaru walk away. “You and I are very similar, I think. We have a lot of love to give but no one to really give it to. We even have trouble properly expressing it.” Usually Laito wouldn’t admit that his own way of expressing love was wrong or twisted in any way, but he felt like in this case he needed to be honest about himself in order to get his troubled younger brother to be honest about himself.

Subaru stopped in his tracks before he passed the other edge of the window. He was silent for a moment, then responded. “Don’t compare yourself to me. We’re nothing alike.”

Laito raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Ah, but we are alike. We are very much alike. For example, we both loved our mothers very much.”

Subaru was silent for a few seconds. “I still can’t believe you loved that devil of a woman. I still can’t believe any of you three loved her.”

“Hm. A devil of a woman she was indeed. But yes, we all still loved her in one way or another.”

“A sick and twisted and manipulative love it must have been, then.”

“Love is love, Subaru-kun. There are many different kinds of love, but in the end, love is still love.”

Subaru turned around partially and looked at Laito through his bangs. “Even after all the shit she did to you, you still loved her? Enough to kill her?”

Laito took a step closer to Subaru. “Even after everything your mother did to you, you still loved her enough to not kill her despite her _begging_  you to?”

Subaru fell silent. He had no argument. Laito was right.

Laito’s smirk returned. “You have nothing to say to that, do you?”

“Tch.” Subaru turned his head the other way around, looking at the window. “Shut up.”

Laito put his hands in his pockets and took two steps closer. “Face it, Subaru-kun, you and I are more alike than you think or would like to believe. We both deeply cared for our mothers and we both held a deep desire to kill them because of our love. The difference between you and I is that I had help killing her. I probably wouldn’t have killed her if Ayato hadn’t taken the first strike at her.”

Subaru turned his body partially to face the window. “What-fucking-ever.”

Laito walked over to Subaru and dared to put an arm around the younger vampire’s shoulder. Subaru immediately tensed up at the contact, but surprisingly enough did not shy away from the contact, or even try to shrug off the arm. Laito smiled. “You know, if you ever need to talk to me, I will gladly listen to you. Even if you hate me, it won’t change the fact that we are brothers. Half-brothers, maybe, but still brothers. I love you, Subaru-kun. And nothing you say or do will change that.”

Subaru forced a scowl of disapproval. “What-fucking-ever,” he said again.

“Hm.” Laito’s smile only grew. “Don’t worry. I won’t bother you with my own problems. I have Ayato-kun and Kanato-kun for that.”

Subaru turned his head away. “What-fucking-ever,” he mumbled, for the third time.

Laito leaned forward slightly to see his brother’s face. He poked Subaru’s cheek lightly. “Cheer up, Subaru-kun~” he said playfully. 

Subaru automatically slapped the hand away. “Didn’t you hear me earlier when I said ‘don’t fucking touch me’?”

Laito smirked amusedly. “You don’t seem to mind my arm around your shoulder.”

At that, Subaru shrugged off the arm and turned away. “Well...I do mind. So...go away.” He sauntered off in the direction Laito had just come from, head down, hands in his pockets.

Laito watched his younger brother walk off, a wide smile on his face. Despite the attitude Subaru was in when he left, Laito couldn’t help but feel like he helped a little. He turned around and continued walking down the hall in the direction he’d been going down before, hoping that Subaru would find some peace and quiet somewhere.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Feedback and criticism are always appreciated.


End file.
